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Ordnance Survey’s predominant activity is in maintaining a comprehensive nationwide digital database which, using modern technology, is updated 10,000 times a dayCrown Copyright/Ordnance Survey

Deputy Business Editor

Published at 12:01AM, August 2 2012

Mapmaker sets off on new path to Middle East

Residents of Dubai could soon pick their way through the desert using Ordnance Survey’s distinctive pink-covered maps under a venture taking the Government’s geographical agency into the Middle East.

Ordnance Survey, which maintains a database showing the precise shape and size of every building in Britain, is establishing an international division to meet foreign demand for its services, particularly from oil-rich Arab nations.

The aim is to build on Ordnance Survey’s profits, which topped £31 million last year and allowed the agency to deliver a £17.2 million dividend to the Treasury.